PAA Announcements

The Chicago Society Foundation (CSF) awarded the Polish American Association (PAA) $10,000 in support of its programming to assist the victims of domestic abuse. The Foundation has long been a committed benefactor of the PAA , and an unwavering champion of the Polish American community in accordance with its mission to “improve the well-being of the Polish American and Polish communities by supporting cultural, historical and educational projects…” The entire Polish American community is lifted up by the philanthropy of the Chicago Society Foundation.

PAA Partners with the European Parliament

On Monday, April 8, the PAA and the European Parliament (EP) Liaison Office in Washington D.C., became partners in a campaign to raise awareness about the upcoming EU elections. Most Chicagoans do not realize that Polish citizens, and those with dual citizenship in the Chicagoland area, can vote in the European Parliament elections to be held on May 26!

Mr. Ryan Meilak, the EP Public Diplomacy and Communications officer, and Mr. Antoine Ripoll, the Directorate-General, met with us last Monday to make the partnership official.

Do you have dual citizenship? Did you know that you have the right to vote in European elections? If you would like to register to vote or if you would like to learn more, please email Iza at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit this website:

English: https://www.european-elections.eu/how-to-vote/from-abroad

Po polsku: https://www.wybory-europejskie.eu/jak-glosowac/za-granica

PAA is the Proud Recipient of 2019 Vanguard Award

The Polish American Association is the proud recipient of the Chicago Bar Association’s 2019 Vanguard Award ”for the work the PAA does to make the law more accessible to its clients.” Executive Director Magdalena Dolas accepted the award on behalf of the agency at the Awards Luncheon, on April 10, 2019. Her moving acceptance speech can be viewed here.

Thank you Steve Rakowski for nominating the PAA and the Advocate Society for selecting us to receive this tremendous honor!!!

UIC- PAPA working with the PAA Starting Point Program

The UIC chapter of the Polish American Pharmacists Association (PAPA) is a group of pharmacy students who strive to raise awareness of various health topics among Chicago's Polonia. They enjoy interacting with patients and teaching them about hypertension, diabetes, the flu, and substance used disorders. During the summer, you may find them at various Polish picnics checking patients' blood pressure and blood glucose levels. UIC's chapter of PAPA is passionate about community outreach and empowering patients to learn about and take control of their health".

The 2019 Homeless Count

Every year on the presumably coldest night of January throughout city of Chicago a Point In time Homeless count is taking place. Polish American Association as one of the lead agencies participated in the annual count to obtain a “snapshot of Chicago homeless population which serves as basis for Federal funding for service and resource planning and to raise public awareness about homeless.. On January 24. 2019 between 9pm and 3am, 5 teams of 16 volunteers, amongst them our Alderman John Arena who joined us second time in row, ventured out in the bitter cold condition in search of homeless out on the streets. As of 3:05 AM total count of homeless individuals in our designated canvassing are was 15 .

We would like to thank all volunteers, All Chicago Team and Alderman Arena for their continuous participation and commitment in making this event possible.